Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1887-08-18

Seventy-fye or More Killed
and at Least One Hundred
and Fifteen Injured.
An Excursion Train Sinks with a
Burning Bridge Near Chats
worth, III.
Fire and Pitiless Rain Add Hor-
ror to the Disaster-Dead
Bodies Robbed.
Many Peorians Meet Death in the Dis
astsr-suioide to Escape Pain
Stories Of the Survivors.
[spocia, tlisdntcb from, Forest, nj.

Chatsworth 90 tho Toledo, Peoria and Western
Railroad, late Wednesd ny night. An excursion
train OF sixteen cnrs from Peoria wont through
q culvert and upward Of $50 persons were killed
and injured. So far as learned, seventy. three
persons were instantly killed md about one
hundred and sixty more or less seriously in
jured.
The train consisted Of engines 81 and 13. q
baggage Cur, q hpccial cor. fiyo coaches. and
ChatBworth, smnll village about seven miles
east OF Forest, thero is n small culvert OF
ditch. 1t is about foui teen feet wide ard thir-
teen feet deep. Tho bridge over this cnlvert
was wretched structure Of wood, ind the
hot weather OF past weeks had made it dry
as tinder Wednesday night the supports
caught FIRE and slowly burned until the
nants of the tinlbers. When tho train came
laundering down thoro WINS nothing to warn the
head engineer that tho DridRo was death trap
It had steamed slowly out Of Chntsworth at
II 40 o'clock. but striking q gentle down grade
the throttle was pulled out and the train rushed
along at q rate OF forty miles an hour.
HURLED INTO THE CHABM.
When the first engine struck the bridge there
was cracking ofstimbers, and tho engine
dropped. The leading engine was not thrown
from the track. and continued on its way. TAX
ing its tender with it. The next engine dropped
into the chasm, and then the train rushed on
ward and was piled in n heap, with the excep-
tion Of the sleepers which escaped without a
scratch
The scene Of horror and confusion that fol-
lowed was frightful. There We're about seven
hundred people on the train, and of these fully
ono-half were in the coaches that now lay in q
huge mass. Ten cars filled with dead end dy-
ing people were jammed into space Of two
cars length.
HORRIBLY CRUSHED AND MANGLED.
The six coaches We're telescoped in the most
horrible manner and the occupants were sim
ply crushed and mangled almost ont of all
dies We're taken out from the end of one of tho
cars: When the crash came they were swept
OH their seats byithe rear car bursting in on
them and crushed to death in tho further end
of the car.
As soon as the survivors recovered from the
awful shock a train hand ran back to Chats
worth for help The news of the awful disas-
Ter spread quickly and in q short time hun
dreds OF people from Forest, Chatsworth, Piper
City, Gilman, and the surrounding country
were on the spot assisting in the work of res
cue. The remnants of the bridge, which was
still burning, received the first attention.
Water was brought from farmers houses near
by and the flames extinguished. None of the
ears caught fire. otherwise the horrors of a
holocaust would have been:added to an.nlready
frightful disaster. Attention was then turn c d
to the shrieking inmates of the wrecked cars
that three of the coaches were not only tele-
scoped, but piled on top of each other The
other cars had rolled off the track after tole-
scoping. Fourteen trucks were piled on the
east side OF the culvert. In the midst of this
awful mass of broken cars hundreds OF human
beings were intombed. One woman with her
of the car and killed. The baby was
not injured Four colored women sit
ting together were crushed to pulp.
They were from Peoria. Conductor Still
we'll escaped with a few injuries about
the body.
man named Goodall a butcher from Peoria,
WAS caught between two cnrs and his lower
limbs crushed.
For Gods sake save mo-" he cried to tho
rescuers. I'll give 500 to any one who will
pull me out Of here"
Rnfif fyuuc t,,,y, upi1N In To 1,o1,
have been got out without chopping it out, and
the poor fellow died few minutes later His
son is thought to have been killed.
SHR1EKlNG OUT OF THE DARKNESS,
AS fast as possible the work OF release was
prosecuted, but about 9 80 o'clock it began to
rain, and the horror of the night WAS complete.
ined by lanterns and pierced by the awful
yells and groans of the dying, injured, and i'm
Rrisoned, was now joined by the elements, and
of thunder made q scene that would . ap.
pail tho bravest heart. One young man who
was taken out with both legs broken was
Carried dawn IN into e.,,5 sorneld near by and laid
hour later It was found that he had killed him
self by blowing his brains out The terrible
excitement and pain had probab bly, driven him
crazy.
AS fast as the victims were rescued they
were placed side by side in the cornfield north
OF the track. By daylight sixty-five bodies
were lying side by side, silent monuments to
what seems to have been a railroad company s
earelessness. The majority of the dead are
Peoria people. The train contained IT'S people
from Peoria city and county, and OF this num-
ber Mt least forty-one were killed.
sTonIEs OF SURVIVORS.
MI. >. NJ. Tennery, OF Peoria, was in the first
and then heard a grinding sound. md on look.
ing out saw that the car in which we were WAS
directly over the fire, which was slowly blazing
safety, and the scene presented to the eve and
ear was one wish could forever efIace from
my my memory, but l know, never can. The
the dead will always stay with me. To % add to t.,
the horror it was pitch dark save for the titful
light OF the fire under the sleeper
which lighted the faces OF those about only to
make their fear and anguish visible. On the
mouths Of most of the corpses could be seen
fonn which showed that they died in agony
Al ia ,ast tive we secured some feeble lights but the
poured down in torrents on the unprotected
dead and dying in the hedges and cornticlds ad
lncent Our efforts were divided between
trying to put out the fire and rescuing the
dying whose cries for help were heRrtrendinp
indeed. Mothers ran wildly about crv.
ing for lost children and wives for hus
bands. strong men were weeping over the
forms OF their beloved wives. Prayers en-
treaties, and groans filed the air until daylight
when When relief parties got to work and removed
the dead and wounded from the scene. TLe
bridge was on fire before the train struck
Y. Falroth, who was one of the fortunate ones
occupying berth In next to the last sleeper
a
mad. All went to work with n will with such tools
as could be found on tho cars to further do
stroy and tear away all the woodwork pos
sible. md with dirt, weeds, dry grass, coats
and clothing; in fact anything that would nc,
rs a weapon against the fierce flames. After {
terrible Wr s, struggle ,aals the fire was put out
was requested. "For Gods sake take my child,
babe which he Immediately did and. leay
ing IL m IN as safe a place as could be found
@ % Neal .A0 Of mos.v aoa iGnnd ths ast mother asS
Ihe scene in the cars was be.
yond description. Ono young child was
found fastened near the roof OF tho car hond
down, Where in the jar and conclusion it had
cen thrown, and was dead when taken down
others were found in all conceivable shapes
al a were thrown off their sents and piled in the
gashes in the face. arms, or other portions Of
the body. 1twns, MIR. Falvorth says. the niosi
si9SKkee,ning sight he ever witnessed.
William Ellis, one Of tho badly injured. saws
ne was thrown four or five seats forward nnd
stunned, and when he recovered himself he
sound souash others lying upon him, His watch wui
the opinion that the bridge was set on fire h,
loungers around there whose motive it was Il
piunder the dead, as he saw some of these aus
pic,ons-,ooking n.0 Fellows taking rings from fin
gers and money and valunbles from the pocket.
OF others not able to resist.
H. w. White, OF the Peoria Journal. pives tn,
following account:
Il was in the second sleeper, and wo wer,
going along about midnight when there CAM
q peculiar. jostling. I thought that we has
been derntlsd. Our porter said, we are MI
flght when some one snid, There ia flr.
ahead got up and went to the front. Th,
mead engine had rushed over the chasm The
second engine had tumbled into Il. It haf
.eiescoped, , and the engineer was shapeies,
mass Tho first car was turned ut rirht angle,
WIN tne track, and the remaining eioyen car,
had telescoped and piled up in one heap.
several OF us climbed on the cars with axe.
anu lanterns and went to work. Tho first mar
we found was Billy Stevens, the copfec tioner
he was dead. We pulled him out after som,
eHort, and then pulled his daughters. Fmms
and Ida, out They were all dead Every ont
was groaning and crying. Their feet seemef
70 be Jammed. Most of them had their leo,
broken. After an hour and n half we cieartf
the car: They were Offering $50 each for relief
fropably There were a dozen bodies taken ont
MIS- deal was one OF these ''
then went down on tho ground and ass;stef
IN taking tho dead down. Tho peopIe nn III.
ground put plank up and the bodies taken on,
were slid down the plank. The dead were mn,
IN one pile and the living in another. Ever,
1T once. sA ~ iaiiiihei ihei
One Of the horrible incidents WINS this 4
man, well dressed, who was SO badly ininrci
that ms bowels were protruding called incea
saEtiy Tor wnter, and as he could not he attend
co &c no nnally pulled out his revolver M, hot
himself through the head 's ~"
one little boy, the son Of the Method lat min
ister ut Abingdon-Frank Snadecker. abont /.
years old-was found on the he sn,n ~ L. -.